A Router, A Macbook, And A Virtual M.D. Practice?

Wiliamsburg has got its share of stuff to hate (average number of morning L Trains that pass before I can actually start my commute to work: 2!) but now it's got something to file under "potentially sketch-ball but so worth a try." Meet Dr. Jay Parkinson, M.D.

Dr. P is a Johns Hopkins-trained physician with his own practice which he runs out of his Brooklyn apartment and his wireless router. That's right, he does virtual treatments and, after an initial in-person visit, claims to be able to effectively and affordably "see" patients purely through communication technologies like G-chat, skype and cell phones. True enough, you can save precious time waiting in the doctor's office lobby and can often fill out any forms at home but some have voiced their concern over the lack of personal interaction. But Parkinson bills himself as a "New Kind of Physician" and intends to revolutionize the way medicine is traditionally delivered to patients. Over a MacBook. Ironically, his virtual practice might work better if he was a little less good looking. What's the fun of having a hot doctor if you can't hang around the examining room for a few extra "emergency" visits.